Sunday, May 1, 2016

Is the Constitution Dead?

I was on the radio Saturday with my friend Gary Wellings.
Gary hosts a radio show called The Drift and publishes a local newspaper The Courant.

Interestingly I have another friend that publishes a couple local newspapers.
These are side jobs these days :)

So Gary is a Trump supporter and we've been at it a few times on air.
He's a good guy and actually had me co-host once with the third caller in this audio, Mike from Ann Arbor.

Gary had been discussing the Clinton e-mails, but then got around to Trump/Cruz, red meat for radio shows. I called to say I liked his show generally, but don't really want to listen to a show that non-stop attacks my candidate. It went well. We attacked Hugh Hewitt instead. :)

Janie, the next caller, who held a very reasonable conversation with Gary, is a Cruz supporter.

Mike begins his call by attacking, personally, Janie,
Later in his call Mike attacks Cruz as a "Bible thumping preacher" supported by a bunch of Holy Rollers.
I find these ad-hominem attacks very Trump-like.
Low on information, high on vitriol.
There is also a near religious faith that Trump will overcome every poll existing showing him losing to Hillary.

Now here's my point.
In my call, I mention that Ted Cruz is a Constitutionalist, the only one in this race.
At the 17 minute mark, Mike addresses me and says that the Constitution is over.
Is it?

Does it matter that more than one Trump supporter I've talked to is willing to neglect Trumps lack of devotion to the Constitution? Gary said something similar to me last summer about it being "over", but today showed concern for it.

25 comments:

The Left seems to be trying to make us "post-Constitution"...look at all the Exec Orders ("BUSH did it, TOO!" resounds but it was SO different), Midnight 'dumps of news' (while Obama touted the free press in America during his speech at the Corr. Dinner last night...it's FREE unless one doesn't agree with it, then it's "just FOX"), destroying true equality with the racial divide Obama's created, the Gibson guitar nightmare, the IRS nightmare, the huge delays in bringing people to justice, the way he's gone around Congress and is releasing Gitmo people AND letting Felons vote (for Hillary, of course).Ya, there's more, I don't want to think of them ....

There was definitely criminal activity at the IRS with Lerner.You may not care because it wasn't your team taking the poor officiating.The effect of Obama's EOs far outway the numbers of incidents.I actually oppose the disenfranchisement and removal of gun rights of successfully processed former felons.

As you may know, I was having a back-and-forth with a Trump supporter friend (a newspaper ad salesperson I used to work with) on FB, and he finally commented: " Jerry, we are both conservatives. I truly do not believe a conservative can win in November since Obama and his crew "fundamentally changed America" during the last seven plus years."

I let that be the last word of the thread because at the end of the day, if that is true and we are post-constitution... in the words of the Hildebeast, what difference at that point does it make?

But there is no "I" in quit, and no "me" in game over....

Your friend Gary makes reasonable arguments for the problems confronting us - namely, staving the flow of illegals across our borders and strengthening the military for the country's very survival. We just disagree that Trump is a solution (touchback amnesty, and telling the Washington Post he never really means all his wall b.s.)

Gary lost me when he said he supports Trump because he is an enigma and has not changed from being a flip flopper and you never know where he stands, but that "meets my expectations". He basically said Cruz was the more moral candidate and the constitutionalist, but he didn't meet his expectations because of that tired Trump talking points about Ben Carson in Iowa? And he felt Ted should have immediately fired someone for some campaign literature, but has no problem with Corey Lewandowski bruising female reporters?

OK, I get it. This is old and tired arguments made by both sides (and only one side making any sense IMO.)

It comes down to this. I am a #NeverEverTrump guy because (1) I know he stands no chance against Hillary... and 2) On the outside chance he becomes president, I believe he would singlehandedly destroy what's left of the economy with tariffs that will launch us into a great depression to degree the likes we have never seen. His erratic moods and nonsensical rhetoric will push us closer to conflict... Maybe to the ultimate brink. And people would blame conservatism for the wreckage, though there is nothing conservative about him. A true conservative would never again get a chance.

As for that last caller, that tough guy Mike. He sounds like a real d*&k.

I assume you refer to the size of government. It's my perception that just about anything other than defense matters done at a national level is a violation of the Constitution but I think that many on the right have been so powerfully indoctrinated to hate the federal government that they are very short sighted.

The 2nd and the 10th. Seems to me that's your Constitution. Not much of a nation.

As Ed's alludes.....we fight against not merely the size of government...that's the stale and lazy analysis....we fight against the scope. The more power exercised but not delegated to the federal government to do good in our name....is equally the more power for the federal government to be oppressive.

Just remember, when you emerge from your 'hope and change' daze.....you'll find that a potential President Trump (((shudder))) has a pen and a phone as well.

Ed, I didn't have time to listen to the links....I listen to him all the time and have never heard him mock people or show ego, so I'm surprised....his voice can be grating but more than MARK LEVIN or SAVAGE?

I can't speak for Trump people....if I could, I'd be ashamed of myself.

We've been 'post-Constitution' since long before Obama. We, collectively, have allowed the federal government to seize, blackmail and cajole power and rights specifically designated to the States. Both parties have been complicit in this. I'm not certain at this point, if Trump has even more disdain for the Constitution than Clinton does...or is merely more transparent about it.

Constitutional Insurgent is spot on. Our country is dead and has been for at least 100 years, might as well face it. We're watching an entire culture slowly die. Those of us who understand and believe in the Constitution are now the minority.

CI, agree completely with your points. The last n presidents have consistently acted to consolidate power.

What amazes me is how effectively the "divide and conquer" strategy continues to work. If someone criticises the actions of Reagan or Bush, no one on the "conservative side" will take them seriously. Likewise, any attention on the actions of Hillary or Obama will brand a person anti- and a hater.

It's his supporters I've heard saying things like "the Constitution is dead", or "Trump has to work outside the Constitution to fix the country".When he proposes all the things he intends to do and never once says "I'll work with Congress to get a law passed.", then I guess he intends to do it the way Obama does.

"One of the things I'm going to do if I win... I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money," Trump said during a rally in Fort Worth, Texas.

On the 4th Amendment: "“We’re going to have to do things that we never did before, and some people are going to be upset about it, but I think that now everybody is feeling that security is going to rule and certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country in terms of information and learning about the enemy. And so we’re going to have to do certain things that were frankly unthinkable a year ago.”

Frankly, I wish he'd be as belligerent on the 2nd Amendment, if he's going to treat the Constitution like a prop.